Companies that produce tons of plastic or that supply the raw materials that make plastics have banded together in an eyebrow-raising alliance. The goal of this alliance: advance solutions that eliminate plastic waste in the environment, especially the oceans.

As the Flipflopi glided towards Jomo Kenyatta Public Beach in Mombasa this week, scores of people gathered on the sand, craning their necks to catch a glimpse of the flamboyant dhow made from recycled plastic that has become an African icon for a new plastic revolution.